EPM Students Tour Yuba Water Agency Facilities

In the fall quarter, the UC Davis Institute of the Environment hosted a wildfire panel series on California wildfire management, where EPM students were invited to join a luncheon with the panel speakers. During the luncheon, we were able to connect with Willie Whittlesey, General Manager of the Yuba Water Agency. We had a great time talking with him about his work managing the Yuba River and surrounding watershed, including dam and hydropower operations. Afterwards, he invited us to tour a dam facility during peak flow season to learn more about the Yuba Water Agency. We stayed in touch until the following quarter where we officially planned the tour.  

In May, we visited the Yuba Water Agency office in Marysville, where we learned about the community that the Yuba Water Agency serves and the dam and powerhouse facilities the Agency operates. The three dams operated by the Agency are multifunctional for Yuba County residents as they support agricultural water demands, local economies, and provide safety from flooding. After visiting the Marysville office, Mr. Whittleson gave us a tour of the New Bullards Bar Dam, the 5th tallest dam in the US and storing nearly one million acre-feet of water. At the time of our visit, the dam reservoir was nearly completely full, necessitating the dam’s gravity outlet be open to help offload water. Mr. Whittleson talked about the history of the watershed, dam operations and infrastructure while we toured the outside and inside of the dam. We next went to visit the New Colgate Powerhouse facility down the river of the New Bullards Bar Dam where we learned how the Agency utilizes hydropower to supply carbon-free electricity to Yuba and surrounding counties. 

This trip was informative to our career as it allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the inner-workings of a quasi-governmental agency and seeing the different factors that go into infrastructure decisions. Seeing the results of inter-agency communication and decision-making was eye-opening on how impactful environmental policy can be on communities and resources. Mr. Whittleson gave us integral insight into how costs and benefits are weighed when deciding different infrastructure upgrades or conservation projects. A few days before our tour, a $60 million plan for a fish channel was approved by Governor Newsom in coordination with the Yuba Water Agency. Mr. Whittleson worked closely on this project, and it was very enlightening to hear the process and challenges that come with getting a project of this magnitude approved.  Not only did this tour allow a greater understanding of dam engineering, but it also gave an insight into intergovernmental relations and policy effects on stakeholders.